The announcement is posted online and pasted below. Please feel free to spread the news! The paperback is $14.95, and the eBook is just $5.99.

As the US BOAT campaign says, “Together we can reach the shores of Gaza.”

New non-fiction novel: FAST TIMES IN PALESTINE

A book called FAST TIMES IN PALESTINE has just been published, the true story of a young American woman from small-town Oklahoma who stumbles into Palestine and finds her life forever changed. The book chronicles her journey from aimless ex-bartender to Ramallah-based journalist and foreign press coordinator for a Palestinian presidential candidate.

The narrative focuses not only on violence, terror, and social and political upheavals but also on the daily rounds of house parties, concerts, barbecues, weddings, jokes, harvests, and romantic drama that happen in between. Funny, gorgeous, shocking, and galvanizing, FAST TIMES IN PALESTINE challenges the way Americans think not only about the Middle East but about human nature and our place in the world.

How is this relevant to the U.S. BOAT TO GAZA? In two ways. First, the author has agreed to donate 20% of the profits from online book sales to the U.S. BOAT TO GAZA campaign until THE AUDACITY OF HOPE [the American ship in the Freedom Flotilla, which Alice Walker called the “Freedom Ride of our era”] sails in late June. So every copy you buy means more resources for our work in activism, advocacy, and public education.

Second, the book was written to appeal to mainstream Americans, yet hit very hard with the truth of what’s happening in Palestine. It’s non-fiction but reads like a gripping novel, with as many laugh-out-loud scenes as there are crushing horrors. It also serves to put the U.S. BOAT TO GAZA in context by explaining the reality of the so-called “Disengagement” (which the author witnessed from inside the Gaza Strip) and the way Gaza has been treated before and after.

Its seamless blend of travelogue, memoir, and narrative journalism ramps the average American up to a sophisticated, multi-faceted understanding of the Israel/Palestine conflict. It’s a perfect gift for friends and relatives who can’t imagine why you’re so passionate about Palestine.

“A moving, inspiring account of life in Palestine that’s enormously informative yet reads like a novel.”

– Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace

You can learn more about FAST TIMES IN PALESTINE, read excerpts and reviews, and/or purchase the book at